CategoryFood & Drinks

When you think of ultra-rare collectible sneakers the next thing that pops into your head probably isn’t cereal. That is unless you happen to be Ronnie Fieg who in 2011 opened Kith in Manhattan, and recently opened one of the most well-designed footwear and apparel stores in Brooklyn. As a part of the opening also came Kith Treats, a cereal bar that offers 23 options of cereal to mix with any of our 25 assorted toppings and 5 different milks. Recently Grub Street spoke to Fieg about the concept and as it turns out, he simply loves cereal that much, and has for a very long time.

I’ve never met anyone who didn’t like cereal. It’s one of those things that you love growing up, and then when you get older you end up having it because you want to feel like a kid again. For me it’s never been about being like a kid again, though. I’ve just loved cereal my entire life. It’s weird.

If cereal isn’t your thing, perhaps Kith Treat’s can offer you an Ice Cream Cereal Swirl? It’s a swirled vanilla ice cream cereal confection that’s supposed to be game changing. I mean, could you say no to the image below?

1/ Minimalist II by J. L. Lawson & Co.
Described as a “minimalist key shackle” this bottle opener is milled form solid brass and fitted with a blackened steel pin. This is the brutalist bottle opener you never knew you needed.

3/ Crest Bottle Opener by Fort Standard
I dig this cast bronze opener because of it’s masonic vibes and the fact you can personalize it with an 8 character maximum. A simple blend of art and function.

4/ Brass Squirrel Bottle Opener by Jonathan Adler
Jonathan Adler is simply the best. There are few people who can get way with being ridiculous and upscale at the same time (though Ms. Wearstler is high on that list as well). This little squirrelfriend is hand sculpted by Adler’s team in NY, then cast in brass and polished to a mirror finish.

5/ Sphere Bottle Opener by Areaware
Fort Standard gets another shoutout on the list for their collaboration with Areaware. Made of solid beech wood I’d say this is the most minimal of all the openers on this list, as well as the most affordable.

7/ Bulla Bottle Opener by Valerio Sommella for Alessi
Of all the openers on the list this is truly a piece of art that happens to perform the incredibly mundane task of opening a bottle. This is perfect description: “Bulla is the result of reflection into the adoption of natural shapes that do not immediately reveal their origins but which, even without explicitly announcing it, may have a purpose.”

8/ Bottle Key by Makr
And then sometimes you don’t want to fuck around, you just want something to open your damn beer. The Bottle Key by Makr is that option, the thing I carry around in my pocket every day.

Korean designer Jang WooSeok has created perhaps the creepiest coffee lid ever: One that’s shaped like a face that you kiss in order to drink. It’s almost like you’re drinking out of the face of one of those real dolls. Despite how unnerving this is I think it makes for a rather interesting piece of art, creating an odd emotional reaction where one is not usually found.

At this point there are gourmet versions of every food, and now we can add to that list, lollipops. Leccare Lollipops are an artisanal take on the kids candy, being made in flavors like Lavender and Marshmallow, Rose and Honey, Salted Caramel, and Watermelon Sea Salt, to only name a few. What really sells me on these are the fantastic colors and textures.

Pantone brings it’s patented color system to the world of food with it’s Pantone Cafe. You can nibble on a 13-0221 Pistachio Green eclair or savor a 17-1227 latte. The pop-up closes Sep 9 so you’d better book your tickets to Monaco soon.

The bees begin migrating from the nearby countryside as early as late January. Their honey appears along with the tight white clusters of blossoms that frost the tips of the khalsi trees. For the subsequent three months, the bees build their nests, dangling from the branches like inverted cockscombs and cloaked in thousands of defensive bees, each just under an inch long. On our first afternoon together, Nurul Islam told me that he had once inadvertently upset a hive with the smoke rising from his cooking fire. The swarm descended and stung him sixty times. “The whole of my body was swollen,” he said, “I had a high fever for three days.”

When I think of Wolfgang Puck, I think of… well nothing really comes to mind. To be honest, I imagine that horrible chef who yells at people and somehow has a TV show where he yells even more. Perhaps that’s the problem, I can’t off the top of my head think of who Mr. Puck is? I’m pretty sure I’ve had one of his sandwiches before but the memory is fuzzy.

Thanks to Pearlfisher, this might be changing. The London/NY based design agency has cooked up an elegant new identity for Wolfgang and his fleet of brands, which range from catering to the aforementioned sandwiches. This includes a new mark as well as a hairline logo which in my opinion looks quite sophisticated. The comments on Brand New disagree with my opinion though I think less is more with the overall identity which will help it stand out against their competitors. My only question: Where did the bar go in the A?

If I had to recommned one bar to haunt in Paris, and this is a serious decision for me, I would choose Andy Wahloo. A kitschy, hole-in-the-wall kind of place, it’s lit with neon, adorned with a leopard print carpet and boasts an impressive selection of Japanese whisky. The bar was recommended to me by my source of truth, Hamish Robertson, who’s tastes align with my own so very perfectly.

Kyle and I visited AW on a Friday night and it was relatively chill, we assumed the locals had already left on holiday, so we bellied up to the bar and chatted up the bartenders. Kyle started out with a French 75 and I a Manhattan. As we drank we asked the younger bartender what the specialty of the house was, to which the immediate response was, “the Old Fashioned, but I’m not allowed to make it, only Kaled,” pointing to the other, more seasoned bartender. Obviously I needed to experience this for myself. The seasoned bartender was named Kaled and he spent the next 15 minutes (time escaped me) making the most exquisite Old Fashioned for me, and me alone.

He set out a glass, filled it with ice, then covered it with a napkin. Gently, he placed three sugar cubes onto the napkin and then dashed bitters and some other concoction over the top, letting it slowly filter into the glass. Repeatedly he filled the glass with ice, then a bit of Bulleit Bourbon, then removed the ice just as it started to melt, then add more cubes and more bourbon. I marvelled in a drunken stupor at his process, the artistry and the experience that was being poured into the glass bit by bit. His eyes never left his work, and he barely spoke a word as he worked. I felt like this process couldn’t be more magical until he needed proper ice for the drink. Out the bar manager came with infant sized chunks of ice, clear as glass, which he carved by hand. From a cabinet behind him came an old Japanese knife with which he sliced and sheared till it was a perfect sphere that sat cozily in it’s bath of bourbon. As if that wasn’t enough he topped it with a peel of orange rind (of course) but also a custom made chocolate spoon which was spray painted with gold. It’s purpose was to hold the cherry, that way the customer wouldn’t stick their hands in their drink to eat it.

Kaled handed this holy grail over to me and I was nervous to drink it. I asked, “How do you recommend drinking this?” to which he responded, “Well, it’s your drink, whatever you want.” Humility at it’s finest. I placed it to my lips and felt as if I was supping a work of art. In my mind I compared what he had done to the artisans I met in Waterford, Ireland, the master glass blowers who transformed molten hunks of glass into fragile wonders. Clearly he was a master of this drink and it was a sight to behold. I think my honest (and probably over-enthusiastic) admiration was evident though. As we paid our l’addition Kaled asked the junior bartender to set up a line of shots, and myself, Kyle, and Kaled drank together.

There’s a lot fuss in the realm of food and drinks, particularly around the idea of the “proper way” of doing thins. The “proper way” to make a Manhattan. The “proper way” to make sushi. I think we’re living in a fantastic time where we can throw the “proper way” out the window and embrace new ideas. A perfect example of this is Underwood, a canned wine produced by Union Wine Co. out of Oregon. Should wine be served in a can? Is canned wine better? I believe those questions are irrelevant. After having a can of the rosé over the weekend I can tell you the following: drinking wine from a can is awesome.

First, there’s the advantages in form, like how the can helps the wine stay cold longer, something I hadn’t thought of. It’s also really easy to drink in public as most people think you’re drinking a Diet Coke. It’s also worth remembering that an aluminum can holds 375ml so you’re drinking half a bottle of wine per can. That’s no joke.

Second, but most importantly, is the flavor of the wine. Union Wine Co. started in 2005 as an effort to make wine accessible, that it didn’t always need to be extremely expensive. I’m certain if I poured you a glass of the rosé and tell you it came from a can you would have no idea whatsoever. It was crisp, it was dry, and it was perfect for an 85º summer day.

There’s something I love about redesign concepts when they relate to foods and drinks. We see so many of these products day in, day out that to see them in a new light fascinates me. Kara Haupt has created something that perhaps defies “redesign” and approaching the “reinvention” space, creating a new concept from something familiar. In my mind this looks like it would be an aged, super premium version of Jäger that you take shots of on your yacht. Plus, “old man Jäger” has a really nice ring to it.